Northwestern decision is one worth reading

Sunday

Mar 30, 2014 at 12:01 AMMar 30, 2014 at 5:33 PM

Probably my favorite law case to read of all time was “Flood v. Kuhn.” I found myself constantly giggling throughout the entire decision. Someone would think I was watching a vintage episode of “The Simpsons” based on the frequency of my chuckles.

Why?

Surprisingly, the laughter didn’t just stem from Justice Harry Blackmun’s amazing, seven-page opening rant where he name-dropped famous baseball figures like Billy Joel did with historical facts in “We Didn’t Start The Fire.”

What struck a cord with me was how badly it aged. In modern times, it kind of read like an “Onion” article, an amazing piece of satire. I couldn’t believe that only around 40 years ago baseball players were basically indentured servants in a perpetual state of purgatory.

Curt Flood wanting to freely choose a team after his contract expired was considered preposterous to many back then. It was like those renaissance-era scientists getting scolded for saying the Earth revolved around the sun. Somehow, archaic precedent held, and baseball’s reserve clause was immune from the Sherman Antitrust Act.

To me, just imagining all players year-after-year in modern times getting slapped with, like, a franchise tag in football, yet without assurance they’d be rewarded with that high of a salary, just cracked me up. I just couldn’t believe something that’s so normal to sports these days such as free agency sounded so evil and troubling in relative recent history.

In a couple of decades, I can imagine a kid reading Peter Sung Ohr’s, the regional director of the National Labor Board in Chicago, ruling allowing Northwestern players to unionize may have this similar reaction.

Yes, I know many are forecasting anarchy in interscholastic athletics’ near future. For example, Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander expressed that he fears players will now strike before a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament game as a way to get bigger dorm rooms and no classes before 11 a.m.

I’m not here to debate whether college athletes should start receiving some of the astronomical profits certain universities are raking in from sporting events. I know many of the sports and programs don’t bring in a dime. Who knows what will happen or if this decision will have the effect of opening Pandora’s box.

But the thing that floored me while reading this 24-page ruling was the university basically wanted you to believe that Northwestern football players were akin to graduate students rather than employees.

Yes, I know graduate students work hard, too. But are their lives micromanaged to such a great extent.? Do they make Northwestern millions of dollars annually?

The thoughtful, detailed, and insightful analysis given makes this premise seem downright ridiculous.

I’ve had friends who were athletes at various college levels. Also, I’ve covered numerous college sports throughout my career.

I knew it was a grind to balance a sport with academics. Still, I had no idea to what extent. Anyone who reads this ruling will have a new-found appreciation of how remarkable many student athletes are.

Really, during the season, football-related activities consume anywhere from 40-50 hours of an athlete’s schedule per week.

It’s all-encompassing, and it never really dies down for any kind of significant time during the year. This vigorous activity is all while balancing a full-time load of classes.

Also, it’s amazing to see the absolute control the athletic department possesses over the athletes.

Things such as living arrangements, media requests, travel, all have to be approved. I know all sports and programs are different. But I think it’s fair to say college athletes’ lives are micromanaged as much, if not more, than many full-time jobs. Heck, at Northwestern, you aren’t allowed to deny Pat Fitzgerald’s Facebook friend request!

Plus, there were some gold nuggets in the decision. I used to cover Fitzgerald on the Big 10 weekly media conference. He’s smart, charming and feisty. I liked him a lot. I still do.

But I don’t know how well this part comes off. I don’t see this appearing on one of the NCAA’s countless “Student Athlete” ads anytime soon.

“The football team’s handbook states that “when we travel, we are traveling for one reason: to WIN a football game. We will focus all of our energy on winning the game.” However, the players are permitted to spend two or three hours studying for their classes while traveling to a game as long as they, in the words of head coach Fitzgerald “get their mind right to get ready to play.”

Sounds like a demanding job.

After reading this decision, you’ll understand that college athletes are really full-time employees for the university. At Northwestern, these students made the school $235 million over a nine year period.

Will this parlay into something bigger? Will everybody’s worst fears come to fruition? I don’t know, I’m not Nostradamus. Just I don’t think Kain Coulter or anyone else is going to organize a John Galt-esque strike anytime soon.

I do think, though, in the future, we may be having trouble grasping that the thought of college athletes considering themselves university employees sounded ridiculous to many back in 2014.

Tommy Dahlk is a sportswriter at The Hutchinson News. He can be reached at tdahlk@hutchnews.com.

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